Update on the woodworking project

Okay so it's been a while since I mentioned this, but I've made some progress on the furniture building. As I last posted, I'd determined the obvious, which is that Pottery Barn is retardedly overpriced for something that could be built fairly easily with a $38 sheet of plywood. Well, it turns out I was right, though the plywood actually cost $48.

First, let me put in another plug for Google Sketchup. Best free program, ever. Being able to draw an accurate, to scale rendition of what you're about to build helps avoid a lot of waste, to say the least. This took me about ten minutes:



With sketches in one hand, my Kreg K3 Master Pocket Hole System in the other, a table saw at the ready, I dove in head first. A sheet and a half of plywood, a quart of gel stain, and some wipe-on poly later, my wife had her desk:



In another few days, she may even have file drawers (yes, those plastic boxes are temporary). Of course, we realize that the hideous wallpaper has got to go. You must understand this room was once a dining room but is now an office. And it was a dining room decorated by the former residents, who seemed to have a penchant for Laura Ashley fabrics and various shades of rose and mauve. Now that we have furniture, we can think about wall colors. I'm thinking flowerless.

Then, I'll start working on MY desk, as well as bookshelves, hutches, recessed lighting, and all those other niceties Pottery Barn wants you to trade your first born for. Meanwhile, as I sit here at my ten-year-old Ikea tabletop, my wife's new desk behind me, I can only think, "I wish I was sitting over there."